A Reflection for Thanksgiving Day
Find today’s readings here.
I am writing this reflection from the airport, as I’m traveling to be with family for the Thanksgiving holiday. Despite all the usual angst in pre-holiday reporting about the chaos of travel at this time of the year, things have—fingers crossed—so far gone very smoothly, and the folks at LaGuardia seem more excited to be headed home to family than stressed out by being in the airport in the first place. (Of course, it’s still Tuesday; one of the things I have to be thankful for is that I’m not traveling on the day immediately before Thanksgiving.)
The Gospel for the special readings for Thanksgiving Day is the story of the ten lepers who are healed, only one of whom, a Samaritan foreigner, returns to thank Jesus for his healing. While on the one hand, the Lectionary’s choice makes thematic sense—it’s about giving thanks, after all—on the other hand, it seems like the Lectionary might be scolding us. Will you remember to be thankful today?
And yet, perhaps the best part of the American Thanksgiving tradition is that for the most part, we do remember to be thankful on this Thursday in November. We gather, if we are able, together with those we love, we share (too much of) a meal, and we take a moment to pause and remember how much we have been given and how much we have to celebrate. Even in airports, people are in a better mood than usual.
May the Gospel not only remind us to be thankful in the first place but also challenge us to be thankful across divisions and borders and call us to unite our thanksgiving with our praise of God who gives every good gift.
So perhaps we don’t need the possible scolding that today’s Gospel might imply. But I think we do need two other reminders from it: First, that it is an outsider who returns to thank Jesus. The one for whose healing Jesus reached across the greater social distance is the one who sees most clearly what Jesus has done. To whom are we called to offer such generosity? To whom are we called to offer thanks? Particularly as we sit at the table to feast together, we might remember those whose labor brings food from farm and field to table—people who are often immigrants, often undocumented, seeking their own chance to be grateful for the gift of a home in this land.
Second, that the healed Samaritan does not just return to say thank you; he comes back “glorifying God in a loud voice.” These two acts are united and, especially because he is glorifying God and thanking Jesus, they are in a very real sense the same act. This is the thanksgiving—the literal Greek meaning of “Eucharist”—that we offer at every Mass.
So as we gather with loved ones today, may the Gospel not only remind us to be thankful in the first place but also challenge us to be thankful across divisions and borders and call us to unite our thanksgiving with our praise of God who gives every good gift.
P.S. Thanksgiving also marks the beginning of the holiday season and reminds us that the feast of Christ the King and the beginning of Advent are drawing near. This Sunday, “Hark!” Season 3 arrives wherever you get your podcasts. “Hark!” is a podcast about the making and meaning of our favorite Christmas carols, and it’s one of the things I’m most thankful for, and proudest of, at America. If you’re new to “Hark!”, take a moment to listen to the first two seasons, especially the beautiful and surprising history of the “Carol of the Bells.” And then give yourself an early Christmas present and make sure you’re subscribed to get each new episode of “Hark!” every Sunday between now and Christmas.
